Philpop calls on Pinoy songwriters anew

Aside from making the grand prize winner richer by a million pesos, Philpop is making a strong statement for the resurgence of Original Pilipino Music or OPM.  Last December, the Philippine Music Festival was launched, of which Maestro Ryan Cayabyab is executive producer, and made the announcement that they are already accepting entries for this year’s competition.

“What is good about the contest is that quality of entries has improved. We are not having a hard time choosing because we can see that the songwriters are really getting the feel of composing really good songs,” said Mr. C, who is one stalwart of OPM. In fact, he is even encouraging the songwriters to be more experimental.

“What we want to achieve is for the young songwriters to bring up the future of Philippine music,” he added. Mr. C also wishes that Pinoys patronizing foreign music (which takes about 65% of revenues) will also patronize OPM. He said we ought to forget about colonial mentality.

“I am not saying that foreign music is some sort of enemy but if there is really a way that we can entice our music-loving public to go for OPM economically speaking, that would be good for our music industry,” said the Maestro. He added that the bond people form through music goes a long way in helping keep it alive and well.

Last year’s winner, Jungee Marcelo, went home with the top prize of P1 million and said he used the prize money to pay off some debts. Why don’t you give it a try and you might get lucky to win the grand prize?

With the hope of discovering new OPM hits that would eventually become classics, Mr. C will not tire in encouraging Pinoy songwriters to continue composing, and is pushing for the continuance of Philpop which is now on its fourth year.

To join the competition, each songwriter can send up to two original compositions. Each song entry must not have been previously submitted to any songwriting competition or made available to the public in any form.

Deadline for submission of entries is on February 25.You can log on to www.philpop.com.ph for the full mechanics, and follow @philpopmusic on Twitter, or like the Philippine Popular Music Festival page on Facebook for more updates.

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The Padilla siblings – Robin, Rommel and BB Gandanghari – try to tickle the Pinoy funny bones as their new show on TV5 titled “2 ½ Daddies” premieres tomorrow at 7 p.m. Also in the show are Celia Rodriguez, Alice Dixson, Francine Prieto and Dennis Padilla who is reunited with Robin in this series. One of their more famous collaborations was the hit movie “Ang Utol Kong Hoodlum” which propelled Robin to box-office stardom.

This new sitcom promises to be different as it features the Padilla siblings for the first time in a TV show. Robin, Rommel and Rustom (who BB claims is dead) were together in the action movie “Mistah” released 21 years ago. Now they are back in a different setup – in a sitcom—and no longer with Rustom but with BB which Robin has already accepted wholeheartedly. Otherwise, Robin would have probably turned down this project.

“2½ Daddies” present the Padilla siblings in a lighter mood – happy, carefree, freewheeling and with a lot of laughs. Catch it on TV5 every Saturday at 7 p.m.

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Tonight on “Bubble Gang” – gags on a jewelry store and Tata Lino where an old wise man in the woods gives pieces of advice to those in need. In Istambay sa Looban, they sing a song referring to Zion, a champion singer who is not only adored by girls but by boys as well. There is also this segment titled Sino Pumatay – a conversation between a father and a son on who killed Rizal.

“Bubble Gang” mainstays are Michael V, Rufa Mae Quinto, Boy 2 Quizon, Mikael Daez, Paolo Contis, Sam Pinto, Sef Cadayona, and Antonio Aquitania among others. Now on its 19th year, it is the longest running gag show on Philippine TV.